The Sundered Sea - A 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign

Magic

No, we knew it wasn’t some damn thunderstorm – Spellstorms come on faster, much faster. I saw it swirling and twisting up in the clouds, maybe ten miles out, and knew it was not a matter of “if,” anymore, but “when.” Captain tried to steer us out of the way, but it wasn’t any use. The spellfire burned most of our main sail and the mast was nearly split, but thank Torm, we made it out somehow. We made it out…~ Thrift Blackwater, deckhand aboard the Windhammer

Overview

Magic is ever-present in the lands of Sundren – it permeates the world, and in the case of the continent Ur’duryn, wild magic surges and storms across the land. Magic is a force of nature wondrous and terrible to behold, and the nuance and knowledge necessary to harness it has been mostly lost to time.

Wild Magic

Since the events of the Sundering, magic behaves unpredictably and erratically – sometimes gathering and raging across Ur’duryn in a similar manner and intensity as a thunderstorm or hurricane. Spellcasters may find their magic fizzles out and has no effect, or the results of a spell can become erratic or explosively magnified – the arcane power twisting and mutating beyond their control.

Enchantments and Magic Items

After the Sundering, the mysterious Nádr civilization disappeared, and took their masterful knowledge of enchanting with them – today, attempts to develop permanent enchantments and magic are beyond the capabilities of most spellcasters. Scavenging the small cyphers and trinkets from the ruins scattered across Ur’duryn and returning them to Sunderhold for sale and study forms the backbone of a thriving economy.

The quasi-metallic, crystalline element of thaumium is also scattered across the lands of Sundren, both in unrefined ore deposits as well as meticulously crafted, enchanted relics of the Nádr. Thaumium is a potent material in any form – energy dense enough to serve as fuel for arcane engines which drive the machinery of Runner’s ships, and the legacy workings of the Nádr throughout the city of Sunderhold.

Folktales of heroic swords, magic rings, and amazing relics are still told around campfires and tavern tables – some of which may still be waiting to be found across the Trackless Sea.